Note As of Cisco Fabric Manager Release 4.2(1), Fabric Manager information will no longer appear in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family Release Notes for NX-OS releases. Cisco Fabric Manager Release Notes will include information that is exclusive to Fabric Manager as a management tool for Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches, Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches, and Unified Computing System devices.

Introduction

Cisco Fabric Manager is the management tool for storage networking across all Cisco SAN and unified fabrics.

Cisco Fabric Manager provides comprehensive visibility for improved management and control of Cisco storage networks (2-, 4-, and 8-Gbps Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel over Ethernet [FCoE]), and it helps reduce overall total cost of ownership (TCO) and complexity through unified discovery of all Cisco Data Center 3.0 devices and through task automation and detailed reporting.

•In terms of testing and support, future releases of Cisco Fabric Manager 4.x will be backwards compatible with the two previous releases of MDS NX-OS 4.x and with the two highest releases in the SAN-OS 3.x release series.

Compatibility with Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

Cisco Fabric Manager Release 4.2(9) has limited support for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches running versions earlier than Release 4.0(1a)N1, because it does not support FCoE features on Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches running versions earlier than Release 4.0(1a)N1.

Installation Changes for Cisco Fabric Manager in This Release

If you plan to make use of the new Fabric Manager Server federation feature, then you need to follow a slightly different installation procedure for Cisco Fabric Manager. See the "Installation of Cisco MDS NX-OS and Fabric Manager" section in the Cisco Fabric Manager Fundamentals Configuration Guide for details.

If you do not plan to install a federation of servers, then the installation procedure is unchanged from Cisco Fabric Manager Release 4.1(3b).

Upgrading Your Version of Cisco Fabric Manager

Cisco Fabric Manager is included on the CD-ROM that ships with the switch. You can install Fabric Manager from the CD-ROM or from files that you download.

Installing Cisco Fabric Manager is a multistep process that involves installing a database, as well as Fabric Manager. The complete installation instructions are provided in the "Installation of Cisco MDS NX-OS and Fabric Manager" section in the Cisco Fabric Manager Fundamentals Configuration Guide,and are available on-screen once you launch the Fabric Manager installer from the CD-ROM.

Note When upgrading Fabric Manager, refer to the supported upgrade path shown in Table 3. For example, when upgrading from SAN-OS Release 3.1(x) to NX-OS Release 4.2(x), you will need to upgrade from Release 3.1(x) to Release 3.2(x) to Release 3.3(x) and then upgrade to NX-OS Release 4.2(x).

Note Cisco Fabric Manager has not been officially tested on any 64-bit platforms. Currently, we support only 32-bit platforms.

Resource Requirements

Table 5 lists the minimum amount of resources (disk, memory, and CPU) required for both the server and client for Fabric Manager to operate satisfactorily.

Table 5 Resource Requirements

Size

Port Count

Small

< 2000

Medium

< 5000

Large

<15000

Small

Medium

Large

Disk Space (includes Performance Manager RRD files)

Client

100 MB

100 MB

100 MB

Server (+ PostgreSQL)

1 GB

10 GB

20 GB

Server (+ Oracle Express Edition)

3 GB

15 GB

30 GB

Memory

Client

500 MB

1 GB

2 GB

Server (+ PostgreSQL)

2 GB

4 GB

8 GB

Server (+ Oracle)

2 GB

4 GB

8 GB

CPU - Client

Windows

2.0-GHz processor

2.0-GHz processor

2.0-GHz processor

Linux

2.0-GHz processor

2.0-GHz processor

2.0-GHz processor

Solaris

Ultra 45 1.6 GHZ

Ultra 45 1.6 GHZ

Ultra 45 1.6 GHZ

CPU - Server

Windows

2.0-GHz processor

Dual Processor 2.0-GHz processor

Dual Processor 2.0-GHz processor

Linux

2.0-GHz processor

Dual Processor 2.0-GHz processor

Dual Processor 2.0-GHz processor

Solaris

SunFire v240 2x 1.6 GHZ

SunFire v440 4x 1.6 GHZ

SunFire v440 4x 1.6 GHZ

Note If you install Cisco Fabric Manager in a virtual machine, we recommend that you reserve resources equal to the server resource requirements to ensure a baseline with physical machines. See for Table 5 for Cisco Fabric Manager resource requirements.

Fabric Manager Installation Process Overview

The following section presents the flow of the installation process at a high level. Review these steps before you begin the installation process:

1. Verify supported software. Cisco Fabric Manager and Device Manager have been tested with the software listed in Table 4.

If you are upgrading Cisco Fabric Manager in Cisco SAN-OS Releases 3.1(2b) and later, be aware that data is migrated from the Hypersonic HSQL database to either the PostgreSQL database or Oracle Database 10g Express during the installation. Data is also migrated from Oracle Database 10g Express to Oracle Database 10g Express. If you migrate the database from Oracle to Oracle, the schema is updated. Refer to Table 3 for information on the supported upgrade path.

If you are upgrading Fabric Manager in a Cisco SAN-OS Release prior to 3.1(2b), be aware that data is migrated from the Hypersonic HSQL database to either the PostgreSQL database or the Oracle Database 10g Express during the installation. The Fabric Manager Installer installs the PostgreSQL database on Windows. If you want to install the PostgreSQL database on Solaris or Linux, or if you want to install the Oracle Database 10g Express database, follow the instructions in the "Installing Fabric Manager" section in the Cisco Fabric Manager Fundamentals Configuration Guide.

4. If you are upgrading a previous installation of Fabric Manager, make sure the previous installation is installed and running. Do not uninstall the previous version. If the previous version is uninstalled, the database will not be migrated and your server settings will not be preserved.

5. Select the database.

If you want to use the Oracle Database 10g Express, you must install the database and create a user name and password before continuing with the Fabric Manager installation. We recommend the Oracle Database 10g Express option for all users who are running Performance Manager on large fabrics (1000 or more end devices).

If you want to install the PostgreSQL database, you must disable any security software you are running as PostgreSQL may not install certain folders or users. You must also log in as a Superuser before you start the installation.

Note If you are running Fabric Manager Server on Windows and using the PostgreSQL database, you should examine your Windows Active Directory environment for organizational units (OUs) and make the change recommended below to ensure that Fabric Manager Server does not periodically stop working.

On a Windows system, the Microsoft Active Directory applies a Group Policy Object (GPO) to the Fabric Manager Server. The GPO does not recognize the local user PostgreSQL because it is not in the GPO allow list. As a result, the GPO removes it, and the PostgreSQL database stops working.

To avoid this situation, you should move the Fabric Manager Server to its own OU and apply the same feature settings as the original OU, but remove the local user account to log in as a service.

If your server is running Terminal Services in Application mode, or if you are running Citrix Metaframe or any other variation, you need to enter the following command at the DOS prompt before installing Fabric Manager Server:

Step 1 Open a command-line prompt by selecting Start > Run, and then type cmd and press Return.

Step 2 At the command prompt, type user /install.

Note Do not close the command line window. This must remain open for the entire duration of the install.

The following is an example of the output of this command:

C:\Documents and Settings\user.domain>USER /INSTALL

User session is ready to install applications.

Note The install process for Cisco Fabric Manager Release 4.2(9) on Windows uses the incorrect filename: m9000-fm-5.0.1.jar. The filename should be m9000-fm-4.2.9.jar. To work around this, change the filename to m9000-fm-4.2.9.jar and execute it in a Windows command line window.

Step 3 Follow all steps needed to install Fabric Manager, Fabric Manager Server, and Device Manager. See the instructions later in this section.

Step 4 When the installation is complete, at the command prompt, type user /execute and press Return. Then type exit and press Return.

To resolve this issue, close all open folders and open Windows Explorer task windows and restart the FM Installer.

Caution Windows 2000 is incompatible with Fabric Manager Release 4.2(9). If you install Fabric Manager in a Windows 2000 environment, you are at risk of having an unstable Fabric Manager. We recommend that you exit the installation and update your environment. See
Table 4 for the list of supported software that has been tested with Cisco Fabric Manager. See
Table 3 for the supported upgrade paths for Fabric Manager.

To install Device Manager on your workstation, follow these steps:

Step 1 Enter the IP address of the switch in the Address field of your browser.

Step 4 Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation of Device Manager.

Note If you use a Java JDK instead of a JRE on Solaris, you might encounter a problem trying to install the Device Manager from a web browser. This can happen because the installer heap limit of 256 MB is not sufficient. If you have this problem, save the jnlp link as file, increase the heap limit to 512 MB, and run javaws element-manager.jnlp at the shell prompt.

Cisco Fabric Manager cannot discover a Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect until it has been properly configured. To configure a Cisco UCS 6100 Series before you use Cisco Fabric Manager to discover it, follow these steps:

Step 2 Identify whether Cisco Fabric Manager discovery is using SNMP version 2 or version 3.

a. If version 2 is in use, define the same community string on the Cisco UCS 6100 Series as is being used on the seed switch for Cisco Fabric Manager discovery.

b. If version 3 is in use, define the same SNMP user or credentials on the Cisco UCS 6100 Series as is being used on the seed switch for Cisco Fabric Manager discovery.

Step 3 Use Cisco Fabric Manager to discover or rediscover the fabric.

Note A Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect is an NPV device and cannot be used as a seed switch in Cisco Fabric Manager. You should use a Cisco MDS 9000 Family switch or Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switch that is connected to UCS Manager as the seed switch.

New Features in Cisco Fabric Manager Release 4.2(9)

There are no new features in Cisco Fabric Manager Release 4.2(9).

Licensed Cisco Fabric Manager Software Packages

This section describes software licenses for Cisco Fabric Manager and applications that are integrated into Cisco Fabric Manager. For information about licenses for Cisco MDS 9000 Family software features, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Family Release Notes for MDS NX-OS Release 4.2(3).

SAN Extension over IP Package

The Cisco MDS 9000 SAN Extension over IP package allows the customer to use FCIP to extend SANs over wide distances on IP networks using the Cisco MDS 9000 family IP storage services. Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 SAN Extension over IP package fact sheet for more information.

Storage Media Encryption Package

The Cisco MDS 9000 Storage Media Encryption package enables encryption of data at rest on heterogeneous tape devices and virtual tape libraries as a transparent fabric service. Cisco SME is completely integrated with Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches and the Cisco Fabric Manager application, enabling highly available encryption services to be deployed without rewiring or reconfiguring SANs, and allowing them to be managed easily without installing additional management software. Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 Storage Media Encryption package fact sheet for more information. The Storage Media Encryption package is for use only with Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches.

I/O Accelerator Package

The Cisco I/O Accelerator (IOA) package activates IOA on the Cisco MDS 9222i fabric switch, the Cisco MDS 9000 18/4 Multiservice Module (MSM-18/4), and on the SSN-16 module. The IOA package is licensed per service engine and is tied to the chassis. The number of licenses required is equal to the number of service engines on which the intelligent fabric application is used.The SSN-16 requires a separate license for each engine on which you want to run IOA. Each SSN-16 engine that you configure for IOA checks out a license from the pool managed at the chassis level. SSN-16 IOA licenses are available as single licenses.

XRC Acceleration License

The Cisco Extended Remote Copy (XRC) acceleration license activates FICON XRC acceleration on the Cisco MDS 9222i switch and on the MSM-18/4 in the Cisco MDS 9500 Series directors. One license per chassis is required. You must install the Mainframe Package and the SAN Extension over FCIP Package before you install the XRC acceleration license. The Mainframe Package enables the underlying FICON support, and the FCIP license or licenses enable the underlying FCIP support. XRC acceleration is not supported on the SSN-16.

Limitations and Restrictions

This section lists the limitations and restrictions for this release. The limitations and restrictions are divided into the following categories:

Upgrading to Recover Loss of Performance Manager Data

Caution You must upgrade to Fabric Manager Release 3.1(x) and then upgrade to a later release of Fabric Manager to avoid losing Performance Manager data. If data has been lost, follow the steps below to recover the data.

Java Web Start

When using Java Web Start, it is recommended that you do not use an HTML cache or proxy server. You can use the Java Web Start Preferences panel to view or edit the proxy configuration. To do this, launch the Application Manager, either by clicking the desktop icon (Microsoft Windows), or type ./javaws in the Java Web Start installation directory (Solaris Operating Environment and Linux), and then select Edit> Preferences.

If you fail to change these settings, you may encounter installation issues regarding a version mismatch. If this occurs, you should clear your Java cache and retry.

Shortcuts Remain on Desktop After Uninstall

If you install Fabric Manager or Device Manager on Windows Vista, you may see the application shortcuts on your desktop, even after you uninstall the application. To remove the shortcuts, refresh the desktop.

Deleting Cisco SME Interfaces

A Cisco SME interface can be deleted from the cluster only after the interface is administratively shut down and all related tasks associated with the interface shutdown are complete.

Emulex Driver Version

In some instances, the Emulex driver version 8.1.10.9 may set the task attribute to HEAD_OF_QUEUE instead of SIMPLE_QUEUE. Certain tape drives do not accept this attribute and may reject these commands. The Emulex driver version 8.1.10.12 does not have this issue.

Compatibility of Fabric Manager and Data Mobility Manager

Cisco Fabric Manager in any MDS NX-OS 4.x release does not support Data Mobility Manager (DMM) in any SAN-OS 3.3(x) release or in any 3.2(x) release. To use the Cisco Fabric Manager GUI for DMM, both Fabric Manager and DMM must be running NX-OS or SAN-OS software from the same release series.

Using Fabric Manager for an In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU)

If you are using Fabric Manager to perform an ISSU to NX-OS Release 4.2(3) from any release prior to NX-OS Release 4.1(1a), the upgrade might fail. To work around this issue, perform the upgrade from the command-line interface using the install all command. DDTS CSCta94252, which is a duplicate of CSCsu68898, captures the details of this issue.

Ethernet Configuration

SPAN

You cannot use Device Manager to configure Ethernet or virtual Ethernet interfaces as SPAN source ports or to configure Ethernet interfaces as destination ports. The workaround is to configure SPAN using CLI commands.

Zoning

In the Edit Local Full Zone Database tool, virtual Fibre Channel interfaces must be specified using the Switch Port WWN method of adding members to a zone. In the Add Members to Zone dialog box, the Switch & Port method and the Domain & Port method are not supported for virtual Fibre Channel interfaces.

To work around the second of these two limitations, you must manually configure the IP address or port of Cisco Fabric Manager or Device Manager as event destinations on the Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect.

Note These limitations are due to the fact that the Cisco UCS 6100 Series allows only read-only operations via SNMP which is the mechanism that Cisco Fabric Manager uses to discover, manage, and configure switches.

Caveats

This section lists the open and resolved caveats for this release.

Resolved Caveats

•CSCtu21271

Symptom: When the SME feature is enabled, a message that indicates that a tape is bypassing encryption needs to be included in the SME accounting log. Currently the following message exists only in the MDS log:

SME_CPP-SLOT13-2-LOG_ERR_SME_TAPE_BYPASS_ENC

A message similar to this one needs to be added to the SME accounting log because the SME accounting log is what customers use to determine the status of their encrypted tapes.

Workaround: This issue is resolved.

Open Caveats

•CSCtz16696

Symptom: Cisco Fabric Manager does not display an error when you enter a domain ID range of 0 to 239, even though the domain ID cannot be 0.

Workaround: None.

Related Documentation for Fabric Manager

The documentation set for the Cisco Fabric Manager includes the following documents. To find a Fabric Manager document online, access the following website:

Related Documentation for MDS 9000 Family Switches

The documentation set for NX-OS for the Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches includes the following documents. To find an NX-OS document online for the Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches, access the following website:

Related Documentation for Nexus 5000 Series Switches

The documentation set for NX-OS for the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches includes the following documents. To find an NX-OS document online for the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches, access the following website:

Hardware Installation

Command-Line Interface

•Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Command Reference

Reference

•Cisco NX-OS System Messages Reference

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What's New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:

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